When do babies start teething?
The teething period usually starts when your baby grows to around four-to-eight months old. However, during this time your little one’s teeth may have already started to come through without any teething symptoms at all! It’s important to remember that teething is not a completely predictable phase and each child is different, but parents should be able to spot that their little one is entering the teething period if they are beginning to display some of the following symptoms.What are the signs of teething?
The first signs to look out for with a teething baby is that their day-to-day behaviour may start to shift. Children can quickly display signs of discomfort through their body language and your little one may become more irritable, or sulky. But this process can be different for every child and spotting behavioural changes may not always mean they are teething. If you’re unsure about whether your little one’s symptoms are simply signs of teething, we would always recommend double-checking with your GP to be on the safe side. Here are a few of the most common tell-tale signs of teething to look out for, if your little one is displaying several of these symptoms, it’s likely due to teething.- Drooling more than usual
- Red, sore looking gums
- Redness in the cheeks
- Biting, chewing or sucking more than usual
- Refusing food
How can I help soothe a teething baby?
The teething period can be an uncomfortable time for your little one, but the more you know about the signs of teething, the quicker you can help your little one get the relief they need and be on their way to practising their brand new smile in no time. Firstly, it’s important to determine where the pain is coming from. Simply running a clean, sanitised finger over your little one’s gums to feel for signs of new teeth will help you source the pain. Most parents tend to opt for a teething ring, or a cold rubber spoon or a wet washcloth, something cold that can bring immediate relief to the sensitive area. It’s important to note however, that as tempting as it may be to freeze your teething rings, do not let these products harden, as this can bring further irritation to your little one’s sensitive gums. At Direct4Baby, we would recommend opting for something soft to relieve teething pain, such as the Clippasafe Water Filled Teether. This teething ring has been specially designed to soothe tender gums, as the squishy water filling has the ability to mould around your little one’s growing teeth when they bite down, providing immediate relief. Another simple-yet-effective method of providing relief if your little one is experiencing teething symptoms around the six months mark is to utilise weaning foods. Preparing small, cooked portions of foods your little one loves, such as sweet potato, banana or pear and cooling them in the fridge is a great way to bring your little one relief. Soothing your baby’s growing gums with delicious fruit and vegetables all whilst secretly giving them extra vitamins is a win-win situation for both!Teething at night
Teething is also more likely to keep your little one up at night, due to lack of distractions. Whilst it’s easy for your little one to ignore teething pain during the day when a parent’s comforting arms are close by, teething becomes a lot more bothersome for little one’s when lying in a dark, quiet room. The good news is, there are working remedies out there designed with the sole intention to help your baby drift off to sleep. Most parent’s find that playing soft, soothing white-noise sounds help distract babies and allow them to sleep through the discomfort. The SnuzCloud Baby Sleep Aid, available at Direct4Baby, is designed to help settle and comfort your child whenever they need it most. With four different soothing sound options, from white noise to pink noise, which is a new, deeper sound designed to mimic a heartbeat, the Snuzcloud is the ideal sleep solution for soothing troublesome teething patterns. Be sure to opt for a cot that also comes with protective teething rails, such as the East Coast Cot Bed collection, as this will allow your little one to provide relief by chewing and biting on cot rails at night, without the added risk of injury or infection.How long does teething last?
Whilst there are countless articles offering parents advice on the length of the teething period t, there is no given answer for how long a bout of teething may last as each child is different. Some parents find that teething can happen on and off for several months, whereas other children can show almost no signs of teething at all. In short, there is no set period that a child may be teething for and it can flare up and down every so often whilst their pearly whites continue to grow. While you can’t know exactly how long the teething phase is set to last, you can be as prepared as possible to lessen the discomfort.